Doomsday pt-1
by cd11
Summary: Story: This is a prequel to the second season episode, The Doomsday Machine. It tells the story of Matt Decker and the Constellation as they investigated a series of destroyed solar systems. Rated K for now.


Doomsday pt-1; A Star Trek; The original Series story. All characters and rights to Star Trek belong to its creators. Story: This is a prequel to the second season episode, The Doomsday Machine. It tells the story of Matt Decker and the Constellation as they investigated a series of destroyed solar systems. Rated K+ for now.

_**0500hrs: Start of Alpha Watch. U.S.S. Constellation, Stardate 4201.8**_

Commodore Matt Decker stepped onto the bridge of his ship. It was the start of Alpha Watch. The Constellation's mission in the quadrant was to do follow-up investigation and star mapping the several star systems that had been initially investigated by the U.S.S. Enterprise the previous year.

Science and executive officer Hiro Masada was sitting in the Captain's chair when Decker entered the bridge.

"Good Morning, Commodore." Masada said standing up to give Decker his chair back. "Morning Masada." Decker replied. "Anything new since change of the last watch?" Masada shook his head. "No sir, everything peaceful." Then glancing at the helmsman and navigator. "Except these two, sir still whining about what happened at Star Base 13."

"Now Gentlemen." Decker said in his gruff father tone. Are you two still going on about losing the helm/navigation title?"

"Sir, we had them beat." Lt. Jay Francis to him. "The Exeter's team was eliminated and all we had to do was get by Sulu and their new guy from the Enterprise." Francis asked his partner. "What was his name Jimmy?"

"Some newbie fresh out of the academy." Ensign. Jimmy Ray Dunn said. "I think his name is Chekhov or something like that." Decker and Masada just looked at each other and shook their heads. The turbo lift doors opened again and Lt. Jennifer Campioli, the communications officer stepped on to the bridge. "Good morning everyone." She said. Campioli always could brighten up anyone's day. She gave the bridge a positive feel even under the worse conditions. "Good Morning Lt." Decker said.

Looking to Dunn and Francis, "Are those two still whining?" she asked.

Dunn answered "No." To which the whole bridge replied "YES!" She just shook her head in mock disgust as she took over the communications station and started to get caught up on the status of the galaxy. She tried to listen in and frowned.

Matt Decker who did not miss much on the bridge of his ship noticed Campioli's expression. "Something wrong Lieutenant?"

"I'm not sure, Sir." she answered. "We have a lot of subspace interference out there this morning. I can barely pick up Starfleet command."

"Let's hear it." Decker ordered.

"Switching to speakers, Sir" The communications command channel from Starfleet Command which was ordinarily clear as a bell was barely audible due to the intense static. "What do you make of that?" Decker asked Masada. "I don't know Sir." Masada replied. "I've never heard of the Command channel being blocked like this. Not even the Klingons could do it."

"I don't like this." Decker said. "Lieutenant, try to break through the interference to Starfleet. I want to know what other ships are nearby; friendly, neutral, or otherwise."

"Aye, Aye Sir." Campioli replied and went to work. Turning to Masada. "Hiro, go grab yourself a break, then get back up here." Decker looking at the main viewer "I have the feeling that we are about to have a very busy day." Masada agreed and left the bridge.

Decker sat down in his command chair. "Mr. Francis, sound yellow alert, please."

"Aye, Sir." Francis said. "Yellow Alert, all decks yellow alert." Francis called into the main intercom. Decker turned to the young officer at the science station. "Full sensor scan of the area, Ensign." Decker had forgotten her name. "Taylor, sir. Cheryl Taylor."

"Right." Decker said. "Full sensor scan to ½ parsec of the ship." Taylor replied "Aye Sir." And turned to the task at hand.

Campioli stepped down by Decker's chair. "This is what I could pick up. Sir." she reported. "The Yorktown is 4 sectors away right now; they are monitoring what Starfleet suspects may be a Romulan listing posts over near the planet Spike. They are 2 days away at warp 8. The frigates Rommel and Tucker are at Star base 13. They could be here in 12 hours at maximum warp." Decker nodded "Anyone else?"

"Besides those ships, is the Enterprise." Campioli said "They just left Deep Space Station K-7 about 14 hours ago."

Decker smiled at her. "Ok, Jen thanks." He told her. "Keep at it."

"Aye, sir." And she returned to her station. Decker started to get up and walk his bridge, when from the science station; Taylor exclaimed "What the hell?"

Decker started to go over to her, when the perimeter alarms started to go off. "Hang on!" Francis shouted as he hit the helm controls. The Constellation evaded a massive asteroid that would have destroyed her had it hit the ship.

"Report!" Decker shouted.

"We've stumbled on to an asteroid belt, Sir." Taylor reported. "It was not on the navigation charts, like nothing I've ever seen Sir."

Decker turned back to the helm. "How long until we're at system L-370?" Francis and Dunn were going over their charts and were confused and more than a little frightened.

"How long, Mr. Francis?" Decker barked.

Francis turned to Decker; "According to the star charts, Sir. We're right in the middle of it."

"But that's impossible." Decker said. "There were seven planets in this star system. What happened to the planets?"

"Unknown, Commodore, but the only thing in this system now is blasted rubble." Masada had returned to the bridge at this point along with the chief medical officer, Dr. Peter Evans. Decker turned to his two senior officers. "Masada." He said "I want everything we find recorded. I want a class 1 probe sent out to Star base 13. With the interference with communications that we are dealing with. That may be the only way anyone will get the information about this for a while."

"Aye, Sir." Masada replied. And turned to the science station.

"Sounds like you're expecting trouble Matt." Evans told him.

Decker looked at the screen and then back to Evans. "There used to be seven planets there, Pete, and now there's blasted rubble. Trouble? What do you think?"

_**Captain's Log; Supplemental**_;

"_We have finished our preliminary investigation of the destruction of system L-370. The seven planets in the system have been destroyed, and we must assume that the inhabitants of the two class-m worlds are dead. This is a catastrophe of the first magnitude. We have tried to contact Star Fleet to report the disaster but due to subspace interference they can not be reached. The ship is on alert status."_

Decker was in his quarters going over the data that they had collected to this point. System L-370 had been destroyed, but in a way that he had never seen in nearly 30 years of service in Star fleet. A knock on his door brought him back to reality. "Come in." he said.

Pete Evans came in. "Making any sense yet?" he asked Decker.

"Hell no!" was the reply. "There is no logical reason for what happened back there. The sun was still intact. Only a nova can destroy a system like that. It does not make any sense." Decker reached into the cabinet by his desk took out two glasses and a very dusty bottle of Johnny Walker Red. "You off the clock yet?" Decker asked him.

"Close enough." was Evans reply. "I always wondered how you manage to find this stuff out here in the boonies"

Decker laughed as he poured "I have friends in low places, Doctor. Actually I can thank Montgomery Scott for this bottle." They both clinked glasses and drank slowly. Then Decker spoke; "We're heading into trouble Pete." Decker said. "I'm not sure what kind yet, but...' The intercom whistled. "Bridge to Decker."

Decker pushed the button "Go ahead."

Masada spoke "We've entered system L-371, Sir." He paused "Or rather what's left of it."

Decker and Evans exchanged looks. "The Planets destroyed?" Evans asked

"Yes doctor." Masada stated flatly. "Nothing left at all except the sun." Decker broke into the conversation "What about contact with Starfleet command?" At this point Campioli spoke up. "We can't break through the interference, Commodore. The further out we get the worse the interference is getting."

"How many class-1 have been sent?" Decker asks.

"4 so far, sir." Masada replied.

"I see, and at this range how long before we could expect a reply?"

"Maybe a week if we are lucky, Sir" Campioli said.

Decker considered his options, he could continue to investigate the destroyed solar systems by himself, or he could pull the Constellation back out of range of the sub-space interference to have direct contact with Starfleet. It only took him a minute to choose his course. "Mr. Masada." Decker said. "Maintain course to L-373."

"Aye, sir."

Evans stood up. "Well Matt, I'll get sick bay ready to go. I have the feeling business may be getting brisk." With that Evans left.

Matt Decker was left to his thoughts. "Yeah, I thinks too Pete."

For the next 16 hours, the Constellation investigated the destroyed systems. There was no sign of what or why these star systems had been destroyed. The mood on the ship had turned grim. The crew knew that anything that could destroy on this scale had to be monstrous. But despite that, they were all confident.

Constellation had always been a lucky ship. She was known around Starfleet as the "insurance policy." They always had the highest mission success rate and the fewest casualties per mission. And this was a statistic that everyone on board from the greenest graduate from the academy to Matt Decker himself was proud of. They knew the risks of proceeding further with their investigations, but still went forward. The Constellation, the luckiest ship in the fleet proceeded on their course to system L-374 where their long-range sensors actually still detected intact planets. For the commander, officers and crew of the Constellation the eleventh hour had arrived.

For Doomsday was out there, and their deaths as well.

_**To be continued:**_

Doomsday will conclude with part 2, the battle of system L-374.


End file.
